Israel News

Today Trump will Announce the US Embassy Move to Jerusalem

At 1:00 pm Eastern Standard Time which is 8:00 Israel local time Trump will deliver an address in which he is “expected to announce US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. This recognition of the historical reality that Jerusalem is the epicenter of Jewish faith for millennia and the reality that all the government institutions, the Supreme court and central authorities have their seat in Israel’s capital, Jerusalem”, say senior government officials.

“We must be fair to the reality that Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Israel these past 70 years and that can’t be denied. Recognizing this reality should have no bearing on the peace process. President Trump is committed to making peace between Israel and the Palestinians. In his opinion peace is attainable and he is very optimistic about this. He will agree to the 2 state solution if both sides are amenable to it.”

When asked if Trump’s decision would set back Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations an official said: “Delaying Jerusalem’s recognition as the capital of Israel hasn’t brought peace for over two decades.”

The second declaration will deal with the US moving the embassy to Jerusalem. “The president already instructed the state department to begin the process of moving the Embassy to Jerusalem” according to members of the Trump administration. “On the other hand Trump will continue to sign the waivers on the order to make the move until the last stages of the moving process”, say those members.

One official explained that it would take at least 3 to 4 years to make the move pointing out that the U.S. Embassy relocation in London took eight years and it isn’t yet complete. There are 1,000 Embassy personnel in Tel Aviv, and finding an appropriate site in Jerusalem will take time. It is a “practical impossibility to move the embassy tomorrow. It will take some time to find a site, address security concerns, design a new facility, fund and build it,” said a senior official.

Last night in a phone conversation, Trump already forewarned Abu Mazen last night about the decisions he will declare today. Abu Mazen had frantic conversations with world leaders to prevail on Trump not to announce anything about Jerusalem’s status. In addition he already announced “3 days of wrath” again resorting to violence as his “legitimate means to achieve Palestinian goals”. Protests were held in Bethlehem in which photos of Trump were publically burned. Hamas announced a “day of wrath” slated for Friday.